


Glass Houses

by mithrel



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Blanket Permission, M/M, Podfic Welcome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-01-12
Updated: 2010-01-14
Packaged: 2017-10-31 09:25:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/342465
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mithrel/pseuds/mithrel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Castiel gives Gabriel some advice.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Glass Houses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel gives Gabriel some advice.

Gabriel’s sitting at a table in a motel room decorated like something out of the sixties: lava lamps, psychedelic posters on the walls, tie-die bedspreads. Even for the Winchesters this is a bit much. He drums his fingers on the table.

Sam and Dean had gone to get food, and taken Castiel with them. He’d begged off, claiming that he didn’t need to eat. He wasn’t sure they’d bought it, but Dean had just shrugged and said, “Suit yourself.”

In reality he doesn’t want to be around people right now, and especially doesn’t want to be around Sam.

He’s surprised, though, when Castiel appears in the room. “I thought you were getting food.”

His brother shrugs. “I don’t really need it.”

“Pull up a chair,” Gabriel suggests, although he’s irritated at having his solitude interrupted.

Castiel sits down on the bed and stares at him until Gabriel gets uncomfortable. “What?” he snaps finally, because Castiel’s intensity combined with the impossible blue of his vessel’s eyes is just fucking _creepy._

“You’re unhappy,” Castiel says softly.

Gabriel leans back in his chair, trying for casual. “Who, me? I’m happy as a clam.”

“Why would bivalves be happy?” Castiel asks, his brow furrowing, and Gabriel has to laugh.

Unfortunately Castiel apparently decides the question of mollusks’ mood isn’t important. “It’s Sam, isn’t it?”

“What?” Gabriel’s confusion is all-too-false, but he hopes Castiel won’t notice.

“Gabriel,” Castiel says, in a tone more suited to a disappointed elder brother than a younger one trying to get someone over whom he has no power to fess up.

“You don’t know what you’re talking about,” Gabriel mutters, and yeah, even Cas isn’t going to fall for that one.

“I know you, Gabriel. And I’m not as unobservant as you think. You make an apparently unfounded decision to help us against Lucifer, even though you claimed to want Michael and Lucifer to fight. You spend a great deal of time here, but only when Sam is present, and although you might have reason to avoid Dean, there is no reason to avoid me.”

“I’m sorry,” Gabriel mutters, not even sure why.

Castiel shrugs. “Who you choose to spend time with is not the issue here, or not exactly. You care about Sam.”

“Do not,” Gabriel insists mulishly, but Castiel only cocks his head at him.

“Have you told him?” Castiel asks, just as if Gabriel had admitted it.

Gabriel snorts. “ _Told_ him? Are you _crazy?!_ What am I supposed to do, march up and announce that I want to fuck him?” He _doesn’t_ want to fuck Sam. Well, all right, he does, but not _just_ fuck him, and that’s the problem. If he wanted to he could seduce Sam without trouble, have his fun and leave. If he wanted to.

“You may have to. Certainly nothing else worked with Dean.”

“Yeah, well, Dean’s an idiot,” Gabriel replies without thinking.

Castiel’s face darkens, but he only says, “And Sam has never been able to see when someone is interested in him.”

“What makes you think I even want to do anything with him? And even if I did, what makes you think he’d want to do anything with me?” Sam, unlike Dean, has mostly forgiven him for what happened in Broward County and Wellington, but this is something else entirely.

“You’ll never know unless you ask him.”

“Yeah, whatever.” Because Castiel is the last person to be giving relationship advice, Sam isn’t interested in him, and there’s no way in _hell_ Gabriel’s going to tell Sam he’s in love with him.


	2. The Other Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sam was miserable and it was pathetic and he didn’t care.

Sam was miserable. Gabriel had been gone for three weeks, and he was miserable and it was pathetic and he didn’t care.

“Dude, what is _up_ with you lately?” Dean demanded.

“Nothing,” Sam muttered sullenly.

Dean didn’t even dignify that with a response, just gave him a disgusted look. After a moment he said, “I’m gonna ask you again. What crawled up your ass and died?”

“It’s not important!” Sam protested. He didn’t want to talk to Dean about this. Dean had Cas, and however much he tried to tell himself he wasn’t jealous he knew that was bull.

“Sure it isn’t,” Dean scoffed. “You’ve been bitchy for weeks now, ever since…” he trailed off and his eyes widened. “Oh.”

“What?” Sam snapped, hoping his brother hadn’t connected the dots.

“Dude, seriously?”

“ _What?_ ” Sam repeated.

“You’ve got a thing for the Trickster!” Dean exclaimed.

“His name is Gabriel! And I do not!” Sam added.

“Which is why you’ve been brooding in a corner ever since he stopped showing up.”

“ _Why?_ I mean why isn’t he here? What did I do?” Gabriel hadn’t said goodbye, hadn’t said where he was going, or when, or even _if_ he’d be back.

Dean groaned. “God, I don’t have time for this. Look, Sammy, he’s an _archangel._ He’s got other things to worry about besides us.”

“Besides the Apocalypse?” Sam shot back. “I thought he was going to help!”

“Look, he’s an angel, you can’t expect him to have the same priorities we do. He’ll be back.”

“You think so?” Sam asked, knowing he sounded pathetically hopeful and not caring.

“Yeah, sure.” Dean paused a moment. “So are you two…” he made some arcane gestures that Sam nonetheless understood.

“What? God, no! He doesn’t even…”

“You haven’t _told_ him?” Dean demanded.

“No! I mean…”

Dean blew out his breath in a sigh. “Why not?”

“Because…I mean…dude, he’s an _angel!_ ” Sam protested.

Dean snorted. “Doesn’t mean anything. And Gabriel’s probably a lot less of a prude than Cas is.”

“But…”

“Dude. Cas and I danced around each other for months. I’d rather not watch you two do the same thing.”

“But he doesn’t…”

“How do you know, if you don’t ask him? And I think he does.”

“What?”

“Why else would he do a complete 180 about Lucifer?”

Sam hesitated, trying to think of another reason. “Because…because he realized it’s the right thing to do.”

Dean laughed at that. “Yeah, the guy who spent God-knows-how-long as an amoral pagan god suddenly grew a conscience.”

“He was an archangel first!” Sam protested.

“Yeah, and when we met him he sure didn’t act like it, except for the obnoxiousness. So why suddenly start polishing his halo again?”

Sam hesitated. “I…still don’t think…” It made sense…but if he told Gabriel, he knew that there would turn out to be another entirely plausible reason that he hadn’t even thought of and Gabriel would mock him until he lost interest. He might even leave.

“You should tell him,” Dean continued.

Sam shook his head, lips thin. “No. No way. Besides, it’s not like I’ll get a chance.”

Dean sighed and shrugged. “It’s your life.”


	3. For Granted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things come to a head.

It had been a week since his conversation with Sam, Gabriel still hadn’t showed up, and his brother was still brooding.

Dean flopped on the bed, his arm over his face, and groaned.

“What’s wrong?”

He didn’t even jump at the voice coming out of nowhere, just dropped his arm and gave Cas an aggrieved look. “My brother is an idiot.”

Cas’ lips quirked up in a slight smile. “What has he done now?”

“It’s what he _hasn’t_ done,” Dean said, sitting up. “Or rather, what he hasn’t _said._ ”

Cas stared at him in polite confusion.

“He’s got a thing for Gabriel.”

“Oh?” Cas pursed his lips. “Interesting.”

Dean snorted. “Not the word I’d use.”

“No, I say it’s interesting because Gabriel is apparently interested in Sam as well, but is convinced he won’t feel the same way.”

Dean gaped. “You’re kidding!”

Cas shook his head. “I am quite serious.”

Dean laughed incredulously. “This is unbelievable. They’re both fucking pussies!”

“We didn’t exactly do any better,” Cas pointed out.

Dean made a face. “Yeah, true, but I don’t want to have to watch them pining all the time. It’s disgusting.”

“There doesn’t seem to be anything we can do without betraying confidences.”

Dean sighed and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right. Maybe I’ll think of something.”

***

He still hadn’t thought of anything by the time they went up against a nest of harpies. They weren’t like what you’d think, just women with wings, but they had long claws.

Since harpies were personifications of wind they had to find earth near where they were nesting, mix it with their blood and throw it at them, but while they were looking, they got ambushed.

One of the harpies threw Cas into a tree and knocked him out. Dean shot at it and it came after him. The other two were after Sam, and as he watched one of them slashed him in the side.

Dean had just decided that it wasn’t demons or angels who were going to kill them after all, when a huge whirlwind blew up in front of Sam.

The harpies shrieked and when the whirlwind cleared Gabriel was standing there, with a sword in his hand. “Leave now,” he thundered, sword out and gleaming. “Leave this city and never threaten what is mine again. This is your only chance.”

The harpies fled.

Dean went to check on Cas, as Gabriel bent over Sam. He was unconscious, but breathing. Cas was still an angel, though; it’d take more than a harpy to stop him. Other than a few bruises and a headache he’d be fine. Dean hoisted him up and went over to check on Sam.

He was bleeding from a gash in his side, but it didn’t look too deep. Gabriel was next to him, grumbling.

“What…did you mean…” Sam coughed.

“Shut up and let me heal you!” Gabriel snapped. “Honestly, I can’t leave you three alone for a minute!”

“Hey, we did fine before you guys came along!” Dean protested.

Gabriel snorted. “I’m amazed you’re still alive. There,” he said, taking his hands away from Sam’s side. “Good as new.”

“Thanks,” Sam said.

Gabriel nodded shortly.

***

Sam helped Dean get Cas back to the Impala. Gabriel followed them, which surprised him. He was glad to see Gabriel again, and relieved that he’d healed Cas, since he would have needed stitches at least, but he didn’t know why Gabriel was still here.

And what had he meant “what was his”? Gabriel couldn’t be talking about _him,_ could he?

Sam and Cas went in the backseat, since they were both injured, so he didn’t get a chance to ask until they were back at the motel.

Dean laid Cas down on the bed and sat next to him. Sam hovered in the doorway. “Hey,” he said to Gabriel. “Can I talk to you?”

“You already are,” Gabriel said easily, but there was something shadowed behind his eyes.

“Privately.”

Gabriel’s jaw set. “Fine.”

They went back out to the Impala. “What did you mean, ‘Never threaten what is mine again’?” Sam asked.

Gabriel laughed at that. “Oh, that. Just trying to shake them up. Forget about it.”

“What if I don’t want to forget about it?” Sam asked.

“What?” Gabriel asked.

Sam took a deep breath. If he was going to do this, he had to be sure. “Were you talking about me?”

“No!” Gabriel said immediately, but Sam knew he was lying.

“I don’t mind,” Sam said softly.

“You…what?” Gabriel stared at him.

“I don’t mind, that you think of me as yours,” Sam repeated.

“Sam–” Gabriel began, but Sam didn’t let him finish.

He stepped close to Gabriel and kissed him, lightly, just to make a point.

When he pulled back Gabriel stared, his mouth working soundlessly.

Sam laughed softly. “I think that’s the first time I’ve seen you lost for words.”

“You…how long have you…”

Sam shrugged. “Months.”

Gabriel opened his mouth, shut it, then said, “I’m an idiot,” and kissed Sam again.


End file.
